Patent Grant
6893066
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a tool for transferring materials to and from surfaces, and, more particularly, to a combination hand tool having an end for use in transferring materials to and from photo album pages and having another end for use in application of rub-on transfer materials and for use in punching out small dye cut items.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
In the process of preparing scrapbook pages, a variety of items may be placed on or removed from the scrapbook page, and such items typically include photographs and decorative stickers and labeling stickers, as well as other items for providing an attractive page layout. It is desirable to accurately place these items on a page, however, there is often difficulty in accurate placement of decorative items caused by the size of the items which are typically small and which commonly include an adhesive side for contacting the page.
In a further operation for creating a scrapbook, rub-on transfer sheets may be provided, such as for application to a photo album spine to provide an identifying label to the spine. Such rub-on labels require placement of a sheet over the surface to receive the label, or other transfer, and rubbing of the sheet over the area of the transfer in order to transfer the text or decorative material onto a receiving surface.
An additional activity associated with scrapbooking relates to transferring photographs from one album to another in order to ensure proper preservation of the photos. An example of such a desired transfer is the transfer of photographs from so-called magnetic albums, which have been found to cause chemical deterioration of photographs, to a photo safe album, having pages which are chemically neutral to the photographs. In such a transfer, there is a danger of tearing or otherwise damaging the photograph as it is being removed from the magnetic album page, such that careful manipulation of the photograph is required.
Accordingly, there are multiple tasks which may be performed in designing and assembling a photograph album. Such tasks would be facilitated by a tool capable of performing these and other tasks.
The present invention provides a tool for use in transferring labels and appliques from one surface to another surface and for removing materials from a surface. The tool includes an elongated tool body formed of a molded plastic material. The tool body defines a longitudinal axis and includes a taper portion, a grip portion and a blunt portion axially spaced along the longitudinal axis.
The grip portion includes an enlarged area forming a cylindrical surface extending about the longitudinal axis and defining first and second grip portion ends. A molded cover material is provided covering the grip portion. The cover material defines a softer material than the material forming the tool body.
The taper portion of the tool body extends from the first longitudinal end of the grip portion and includes top and bottom taper portion surfaces which angle toward each other in a direction away from the grip portion. The taper portion further includes opposing taper portion side edges which taper toward each other in a direction away from the grip portion and meet at a point.
The blunt portion extends from the second end of the grip portion and includes top and bottom blunt portion surfaces which angle toward each other in a direction away from the grip portion. The blunt portion further defines opposing side edges which terminate at a distal end defined by an edge extending transverse to the longitudinal axis. The bottom surface of the blunt portion at the distal end is substantially planar, and the top surface of the blunt portion at the distal end is upwardly convex. An indicia is provided on one of the top surfaces of the tool for reference in orienting the bottom surface of the blunt portion downwardly.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.
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The taper portion 20 is defined by top and bottom substantially planar surfaces 28, 30 (
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It should be understood that the Santoprene material of the cover portion 21 provides a resilient surface for the grip portion 16 of the tool 10 having an enlarged diameter which facilitates handling of the tool 10. Further, it should be noted that the exterior surface of the cover portion 21 is provided with circumferentially extending grooves 68 to facilitate positioning of the grip portion 16 in a user's hand.
The length of the grip portion 16 is dimensioned sufficiently long between the first and second longitudinal ends 22, 26 to comfortably fit in a user's hand, and is preferably approximately 57 mm long. The taper portion 20 is approximately 18.5 mm from the first longitudinal end 22 of the grip area 18 to the tip 32. The short dimension of the taper portion 20 facilitates delicate operations, such as punching small areas of dye cut shapes or stickers or handling stickers when placing them on an album page. In addition, the end 32 is adapted to be used for rubbing transfer sheets such as may be required for rub-on transfer of labels to surfaces.
The blunt end 24 is approximately 88.9 mm from the second longitudinal end 26 of the grip area 18 to the distal end 52, and the blunt portion 24 is substantially flexible from the point 58 to the distal end 52 such that the blunt portion 24 comprises a spatula-like tool. In particular, the blunt end 24 may be used to remove photos from magnetic albums, which are believed to be chemically detrimental to the preservation of photographs, by placing the bottom surface 50 against the album page and sliding the tool forward to engage the top surface 48 of the tool 10 with the bottom surface of the photograph. The convex shape of the surface 48 facilitates separation of the photograph from the page, such as through movement of a corner of the distal end 52 under the photograph to cause the photo to rise from the page as the convex surface 48 moves under the photograph. In order to facilitate proper orientation of the tool 10 with the bottom surface 50 facing downwardly, an indicia 70 is provided on the top surface 48, such that the indicia 70 will be visible when the tool 10 is properly oriented.
It should further be understood that the spatula-like blunt portion 24 may be used for other operations such as handling stickers when placing them on an album page, or removal and replacement of stickers on an album page in order to reposition the stickers. Further, the blunt portion 24 is particularly dimensioned and configured to be used with albums which include pages having stitches, such as metal stitches, positioned along the page edges for receiving album straps threaded therethrough. Such album pages are sold by Creative Memories of St. Cloud, Minn. The blunt portion 24 may be inserted through these stitches to align the stitches and facilitate passage of straps through these stitches when assembling the album. In accordance with this object, the width of the blunt portion 24 is approximately 10.5 mm at its widest point.
While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 394547 | Thacker | Dec 1888 | A |
| 1206585 | Parrahm | Nov 1916 | A |
| 1461686 | Stone | Jul 1923 | A |
| 1620262 | Klaboe | Mar 1927 | A |
| D116216 | Brekke | Aug 1939 | S |
| 4823654 | Moore | Apr 1989 | A |
| 4852925 | Lodin | Aug 1989 | A |
